Precursor

Ok, I think it's too early in the morning or something, but somehow I can't figure out what that thing is. Even your title is not helping me at all... All I know is that it looks very nice and interesting.

I give in, admitting to be clueless.
It would make an excellent bed for my cat though :-)

31 Oct 2013 7:33am

@Curly: It's a "Camera Obscura" Pointing out to the gardens is a lens, behind it a 90 degree mirror. That projects an image of outside onto the paper. If you wouldn't mind standing on your head, you will see an image of the outside on the platform about a 1/3rd of the way up the main device!. That is then used to enable an artist to pencil in a "Photorealistic" outline which could then act as a framework for a painting. A version of it was also used in the middle ages to spy on opposing troops when you didn't want to stick your head up! It was also a very necessary precursor to the first cameras.